MSFT’s Surface Sees Soft Retail Debut, Says Baird

By Tiernan Ray

Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet computer went on sale October 26th, but the software giant expanded retail availability beyond its online store only about a week ago.

R.W. Baird’s William Power this morning offers his weekly roundup of sales checks at retail regarding mobile device sales, in this case, tablet computers.

Power writes that he spoke with reps at Best Buy (BBY) and Staples (SPLS) stores about which tablet computers they’re recommending and which ones seem to be moving units.

Apple‘s (AAPL) iPad “was the most popular device according to reps we spoke with,” he writes, while the Amazon.com (AMZN) Kindle Fire and Samsung Electronics‘s (005930KS) “Galaxy Tab” line of tablets were also “frequently cited alternatives.”

Microsoft’s Surface, which Best Buy just recently started carrying, was not recommended to us by reps without us asking about it specifically. When asked about sales to date, reps noted that the device was new and indicated that early demand has been modest relative to the iPad and Kindle Fire. We would also note that the device was in stock at every store we contacted […] We contacted Staples stores in an effort to further gauge Microsoft Surface sales, though our impression from speaking with reps was tablets are not a major seller at Staples. Tellingly, Staples doesn’t currently carry the iPad. When pressed for details, Staples reps indicated that Surface volumes have been modest to date. Most reps told us that the primary appeal to Surface buyers is the ability to run Microsoft Office. Consistent with our Best Buy checks, the Surface was also in stock at all Staples stores we contacted. Outside of the Surface, the Google Nexus 10 was cited as another strong tablet option.

Another model of Surface, running chips from Intel (INTC), rather than the Nvidia (NVDA) processor in the current “RT” model, will go on sale next month.

Apple shares are up $1.68, or 0.3%, at $521.01, Microsoft stock is down 37 cents, or 1.4%, at $27.08, Amazon shares are up $1.70, or 0.7%, at $258.62, and Samsung shares rose 2.2%, to ₩1,474,000 in Seoul trading.

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